Why Clients Shouldn’t Ask for Discounts and How Companies Should Handle Negotiations

Haggling for a lower price is so common that it could even get very challenging to tell the truth from the usual bargain. However, it should rarely be the problem of the salesman, business owner, or entrepreneur. Most of the time, it is the prospect’s problem. In this article, we are going to discuss the reasons why you should not ask for discounts as a customer and how you should handle price negotiations as a company. The graph above by HubSpot shows that there is a dramatic disconnect between the needs of the customers and what most sales reps tend… Continue Reading

Is Business Process Outsourcing Growing in 2023?

Is business process outsourcing (BPO) growing in 2023?  I'm not going to fool you or mislead you. BPO is still going to grow and is still going to expand in 2023 for multiple reasons, even though remote working is now more popular than ever.  This Market Analysis Report shows that the business process outsourcing (BPO) market stood at a staggering USD 261.9 billion. Forecasts suggest a 9.4% CAGR from 2023 to 2030. BPO services are gaining traction, not just for their cost-effectiveness but for the agility they introduce. The tech trends, especially cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI), are at… Continue Reading

7 Phases of Running A Freelance Business

Freelancing is a decent alternative if you’re a self-driven person who is a fast learner. Some people are well-organized, can use Google (or Stack Overflow, or other resources) quickly, read fast, and are not afraid of experimenting. With the right attitude through freelancing, you may improve your technical and business skills that you will need to start a freelance business. The caveat is in finding the right process for handling activities. Growing your freelance business often revolves around marketing and sales, negotiations, project planning, documentation, delivery milestones, financial management, and even legal cases. If you’re not passionate about any of… Continue Reading

6 Ways to Hire and Manage Remote Workers for Business Advantage

The shift towards remote work has gained momentum, particularly after the COVID-19 outbreak. A FlexJobs survey reveals that 65% of participants prefer to work remotely full-time after the pandemic, while 31% are inclined towards a blend of office and remote working. While remote work presents certain challenges in business operation, many have thrived with its incorporation. Look at the case of Cisco. Back in 2009, Cisco released their telecommuting study results declaring $277M in annual savings for the company. Here are some key metrics outlined in their press release: The average Cisco employee now telecommutes 2.0 days per week. 60… Continue Reading

Why You Have to Target Non-US Markets For Higher Profits

Currently, the United States is the world's largest national economy. Its GDP for 2016 is $18,56 trillion, hosts the majority of the biggest companies in the universe (that we know of), and is notoriously known as the "land of unlimited possibilities." [caption id="attachment_12254" align="aligncenter" width="730"] GDP for the US over the years - source[/caption] It's only natural to target the US market when selling services, or products, and aim for a higher percentage of visitors, users, and customers living in the States. It's the goal of many entrepreneurs and a target for their marketing teams. A study quoted by Reference.com… Continue Reading

Employer Branding Essentials for Successful Scaling

Employer brand is the company's brand facing inwards, mostly aiming for employee retention and recruitment. Furthermore, your employer brand refers to the reputation you have built as an employer with the help of your employer value propositions.  Employer branding is the process of managing your reputation as an employer among your employees, potential hires, and even the rest of the job seekers in the market. 70% of employees say that a company is more attractive if it has clear plans for diversity and inclusion and social responsibility. - The HR Outlook This process concerns all the strategies required to position… Continue Reading

How to Align Your Business Strategy Based on Client Feedback

Client feedback is one of your most important weapons to design a bullet-proof business strategy that scales.  Feedback can identify operational inefficiencies, helping you allocate resources more effectively. It also validates your business model, indicating readiness for scaling. Negative feedback serves as immediate quality control, allowing quick rectification of defects or service lapses, which in turn safeguards your brand reputation. The feedback that your clients give you is extremely powerful because you are getting paid for it, meaning that they are willing to invest in you and your services or solutions make sense.  You just need to reverse engineer what… Continue Reading

10 Practical Risk Management Techniques

Successful business founders, executives, and managers employ different approaches when it comes to risk management. Whether dealing with financial volatility, market competition, or internal organizational challenges, managing risk effectively is crucial for long-term success. Only 23% of CEOs believe they have comprehensive information about the risks in their business even if 92% of them agree that having such information is highly critical to the success of their venture. On Shark Tank’s season 7, Robert Herjavec said that “Great entrepreneurs live in paranoia”. While I do agree with the sentiment, the risk management course I took back in the day was… Continue Reading

10 Factors to Consider Before Scaling Your Business Towards Growth

While the global corporate community world aims for rapid growth, scaling your business towards growth does not come easy. In fact, not everyone is suitable for growth. An old Harvard Business Review study recommends a 10% to 25% growth target across a broad data set of small and enterprise companies. If we review NYU research data including 2023, average CAGR over the past 5 years (blended across categories) is 10.10%, considering the volatile global terms with some industries accelerating faster than others. The business size and segmentation play a role in how to scale a business. Smaller companies grow faster… Continue Reading

Is Your Business Safe? (15 Operational Questions)

The last recession has put almost all businesses to the test. Some were hit really hard especially the hospitality and travel industries, along with brick and mortars. A few made some decent profit like pharmacy and  home delivery services. But everyone else was partially hit or still struggles to make a living in these uncertain times. I launched my agency during the great financial recession. While sales were terrible back then, starting from the ground was scalable and I wasn’t renting an expensive space and paying dozens of people while business was down. One of the most operational lessons I… Continue Reading